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TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

Newsweek commencing Sunday 25 February 2024.  Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return.  Additional news reports will be included as they are received.

FIRST VIEW:   Richards Bay

• In Conversation: How climate change is messing up the ocean’s biological clock, with unknown long-term consequences
• Transnet executive appointments – official announcement
• Third SA Navy MMIPV to be christened on Friday
• German frigate Hessen into action in Red Sea, shoots down drones
• Hortgro: CT Port improving, but “still a long way to go”
• Cape Town Container Terminal improving
• Michelle Phillips appointed to position of Transnet Group CEO
• SASOL to partner with TFR on rail operation
• WHARF TALK: multi-purpose heavylifter – BBC DESTINY
• SAN Chief attends Indian Navy Exercise Milan
• Projects at Western Cape ports aim at repositioning and supporting ‘world-class’ port infrastructure – TNPA
• SAECS service advisory – London Gateway port omission
• Damen Cape Town receives order for 7 new TNPA tugs
• WHARF TALK: sail training ship – STS PICTON CASTLE
• Fishing: New guidelines – IMO ILO accord
• Wallenius Wilhelmsen looks to expand fleet with further four Shaper class PCTCs
• Norwegian Dawn allowed to dock in Port Louis
• Health scare prevents Norwegian Dawn from landing in Mauritius
• WHARF TALK: P&O liner – S.S. HIMALAYA
• ‘Cause and effect’. Red Sea surcharges and the power of uncertainty
• Djibouti port security training
• Signing of Maputo Port 25-year concession extension
• As Port Maputo gears up, Durban port is targeted!
• WHARF TALK: seismic support vessel – THOR FRIGG
• KZN Ships in Port Update
• Cape Morgan Lighthouse, Eastern Cape – Sixty years of service
• Gabon’s Owendo Container Terminal linked by new bridge
• Spectacular bridge project to connect Mombasa with mainland
• UNCTAD: Unprecedented shipping disruptions: Risk to global trade
• Transforming an industry on a global scale?
• Claude Aman appointed Managing Director of Africa Global Logistics Ghana
• IMO agrees new guidance for safe transport of plastic pellets on ships
• EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND UNDER NEWS CATEGORIES…….

Masthead:  PORT OF CAPE TOWN

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 FIRST VIEW: Richards Bay

The port of Richards Bay. Much in the news over the past year for many of the wrong reasons, remains South Africa’s premier port in terms of cargo volumes handled despite an offset in calendar year 2023. Consisting almost exclusively of bulk commodities, the port registered a cargo throughput in 2023 of 77,849,019 tonnes, which was half a million tonnes less than that of its neighbouring KZN port, Durban, an anomaly that will surely be righted in this present year of 2024.

Opened officially on 1 April 1976, the port consists of two ‘halves’ – one is the massive Richards Bay Coal Terminal, privately owned and operated, and the other in the hands of Transnet to handle a variety of dry bulk commodities, including ores, minerals and wood chips. The port also handles a number of chemical and oil products and is due soon to become the first South African port to operate a full-scale LNG terminal, with the Vopak & TPL Consortium Venture being awarded the concession to design, develop, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the LNG terminal for a period of 25 years.

The image here shows the area of the port that excludes RBCT and the liquid bulk berths, showing instead the 14 berths for dry bulk handling, with terminal areas on view on the landside as well as railway assembly and marshalling lines. At extreme right can be seen two of the wood chip pyramids.

Picture:  TNPA

Africa Ports & Ships

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In Conversation: How climate change is messing up the ocean’s biological clock, with unknown long-term consequences

A satellite image of a phytoplankton bloom off the coast of St. John’s, N.L.   (NASA, MODIS Rapid Response)

Frédéric Cyr, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Every year in the mid-latitudes of the planet, a peculiar phenomenon known as the phytoplankton spring bloom occurs. Visible from space, spectacular large and ephemeral filament-like shades of green and blue are shaped by the ocean currents.

The phytoplankton blooms are comprised of a myriad of microscopic algae cells growing and accumulating at the ocean’s surface as a result of the onset of longer days and fewer storms — often associated with the move into spring.

The timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom is, however, likely to be altered in response to climate change. Changes which will affect — for good or ill — the many species that are ecologically adapted to benefit from the enhanced feeding opportunity that blooms represent at crucial stages of their development.

Fine-tuned ecological adaptation

Phytoplankton blooms are, in some aspects, metronomes of the annual oceanic cycles around which many species’ biological clocks are synced to.

One example is the zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus, a class of micro-organism only capable of swimming up and down through the water column. Calanus finmarchicus usually spend the winter in diapause — the marine version of hibernation — surviving on their accumulated energy reserves in the deep ocean. At the moment they deem appropriate in the spring, they raise from the abyss to graze on the bloom and reproduce.

Fish and shellfish, too, are adapted to this natural metronome.

For some species, such as shrimp, females strategically lay their eggs in the water in advance of these blooms so their young will have ample food supplies from the moment they hatch

As incredible as it seems, some species can “calculate” the egg incubation period so that eggs hatch on average within a week of the expected spring bloom.

A question of timing

This, unfortunately, is where climate change is entering into the equation. What was normal in the past may well be changing more rapidly than marine species can adapt.

Zooplankton and fish larvae constitutes the bulk of what ocean scientists call secondary production. Secondary production is a key trophic level that links primary production (the phytoplankton using the sun’s light to produce biomass) and higher trophic levels, such as fish and marine mammals.

This grand relationship is known as a trophic cascade, as the zooplankton are eaten by the small fish and the small fish, in turn, are eaten by the bigger fish. A whole ecosystem beating on a clock largely determined by the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom, hopefully in sync with the biological clocks of other species.

Any change to the timing of the spring bloom, for example as a result of climate change, can potentially have catastrophic consequences for the survival of zooplankton populations alongside the fishes and ecosystems which rely upon this abundant foodstuff.

This theory is known as the match/mismatch hypothesis and postulates that the consumer’s energy demand should “match” the peak resource availability

A new understanding

On the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf in the Northwest Atlantic, the spring bloom generally starts earlier in the south (mid-March on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland) and later in the north (late April on the southern Labrador shelf).

The south-to-north progression of the bloom was long believed to be related to the annual retreat of sea ice in the region.
But with the duration and spatial extent of the sea ice season being dramatically reduced in Atlantic Canada over the recent years, the relationship between sea ice and the timing of the bloom weakened.

I — alongside a team of researchers from across Canada — proposed a new theory to explain the initiation of the spring bloom on the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf.

Our theory points to transition from winter to spring as being key to trigger the bloom. In winter, cold and stormy conditions keep the ocean well mixed. However, the arrival of spring brings calmer winds and warming temperatures — coupled with increased freshwater flows. These conditions cause the ocean to reorganize into layers of different density — a phenomenon called re-stratification.

Re-stratification effectively prevents the phytoplankton cells of the upper layers from becoming easily mixed in the maelstrom of oceanic forces.
Their accumulation at the ocean’s surface creates the bloom.

This new mechanism successfully predicts the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom over more than two decades. It also allows us to better understand the impacts that climate change is having upon our oceans.

Ecological significance

Located at the confluence of sub-arctic and sub-tropical ocean currents, the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf is naturally subjected to large fluctuations of its climate, with impacts on the timing of the bloom.

Our study has shown that a warmer climate is associated with earlier re-stratification, earlier phytoplankton blooms and a higher abundance of key zooplankton species such as Calanus finmarchicus in the region.

This discovery opens the door to a better understanding of bloom dynamics and the oceanic conditions driving the health of the ecosystem.

The good news for a cold region such as the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf is that a warmer climate with milder springs, like the ones we have seen in recent years, will lead to more and more abundant levels of phytoplankton — with clear benefits to ecosystem productivity.

However, for how long these changes will remain positive in a changing climate we cannot say.

Frédéric Cyr, Adjunct Professor, Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Added 2 March 2024

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Transnet executive appointments – official announcement

Africa Ports & Ships

The following is the full unedited announcement by Transnet SOC Ltd of the new executive appointments. 

The Board of Transnet SOC Ltd. (Transnet) is pleased to announce the appointment of a dynamic and experienced leadership team for the company. The appointments bring leadership stability and add new impetus to the timely implementation of the Transnet Recovery Plan and the Freight Logistics Roadmap.

The announcement follows a rigorous recruitment, search, interview and assessment process, in which Transnet utilised the services of Executive Search Companies, concurrently with internal and external recruitment processes. This was done to protect the integrity and independence of the process.

The interview process included Transnet Board Members and Industry Experts. All these procedures were performed in a fair and transparent manner, ensuring the smooth running of the process through constant communication with all stakeholders involved in the process.

The Transnet Board of Directors made recommendations to the Minister of Public Enterprises, in line with the Memorandum of Incorporation, resulting in the following three seasoned leaders being appointed:

• Ms Michelle Phillips as Group Chief Executive – effective from 1 March 2024.
• Ms Nosipho Maphumulo as Group Chief Financial Officer- effective date, to be confirmed.
• Mr Russell Baatjies as Chief Executive: Transnet Freight Rail – effective from 1 March 2024.

Ms Michelle Phillips: Group Chief Executive (Executive Director)

Adv. Michelle Phillips has been acting in the Group Chief Executive role since the departure of the previous incumbent. She was appointed as Chief Executive of Transnet Pipelines in August 2020, after serving as the Acting Chief Executive of Transnet Port Terminals. During her tenure, she built strong relationships with employees, industry stakeholders and organised labour.

Michelle has more than 21 years’ experience in Transnet and has progressed through the ranks in the organisation, after starting her career as a Legal Advisor for the Transnet Port business. She has a proven track record in business and operations improvement initiatives.

At TPT, Michelle formed part of the NAVIS TOS implementation team at Pier 1 Container Terminal in 2006 and went on to become the Terminal Manager of the first RTG Container terminal in South Africa. She has demonstrated experience in many facets of the Transnet operations, including Legal, and Business Development.

Michelle holds the following qualifications and certificates:
• B Juris, Majoring in Company and Family Law: Nelson Mandela University
• Bachelor of Laws – LLB, University of Port Elizabeth
• Transnet Woman in Operations Management Programme
• Gordon Institute of Business Science – Global Executive Development Leadership Programme
• IMD – Breakthrough Programme for Senior Executives; and
• Certificates in International Terminal Operations Management Programmes from Antwerp, Rotterdam, Paris and Le Havre.

Nosipho Maphumulo: Group Chief Financial Officer (Executive Director)

Nosipho is joining Transnet from Eskom Rotek Industries. She is a highly accomplished business leader, financial steward, operational strategist, change catalyst and trusted advisor, with extensive public and private sector experience, providing sound financial and commercial guidance in complex and demanding environments.

She has demonstrable experience in financial management in large complex commercial organisations like Eskom and Concor Holdings and subsidiaries. This includes a strong understanding of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and National Treasury processes. Furthermore, she has experience in managing a variety of stakeholders, inter alia, different levels of government, parliament, regulatory organisations, employees and labour unions. She is results-driven, technically and commercially savvy, with an exceedingly high technical aptitude.

Nosipho holds the following qualifications:
• B Admin in Accountancy/ Economics – UNISA
• Higher Diploma in Education – UKZN
• B Compt Honours/CTA – UNISA; and
• Registered Chartered Accountant – SAICA

Russell Baatjies| Chief Executive: Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) (Not a member of the Transnet board)

Russell is a seasoned professional with a distinguished career at Transnet. His journey, from the shop floor to executive leadership reflects his hands-on experience at all organisational levels, fostering valuable networks across several operating divisions thereby contributing to his technical and professional development. He has held the role of Acting General Manager Rail Network Planning and Projects: Interim Infrastructure Manager since March 2023, and has recently stepped into the role of Acting Chief Executive at TFR.

In his pivotal role as the Head of the Operations Control Centre (OCC) department within the TFR Iron Ore and Manganese (IOM) Business Unit, Russell played a fundamental role in the heart of Transnet rail operations. His responsibilities included bridging gaps between rail operations and functional/support departments, demonstrating a deep understanding of complex operational and technical environments. As the General Manager: Iron Ore and Manganese, he drove the introduction of innovative logistics solutions in the Saldanha rail corridor expanding export capacity for the high-value Manganese sector whilst concurrently optimising rail capacity and asset utilisation.

Russell’s previous experience includes working for the Transnet Engineering (TE) business where he was responsible for the full TE locomotive maintenance in the Western Region to achieve TFR’s availability and reliability targets required to deliver contracted rail volumes.

As the Managing Executive of the Cape Corridor, Russell fortified his foundation in successfully driving rail operations. His executive experience in charge of the IOM Unit adds depth to his leadership profile, showcasing his ability to navigate the complexities of the rail industry. He has led the achievement of the long-term strategic objectives of the Cape Corridor, the largest geographical footprint in TFR, with full accountability for all aspects of rail operations and rail network infrastructure maintenance.

Russell holds the following qualifications:
• Northern Cape Technical College – National Diploma in Engineering
• Central University of Technology – BTech Business Administration; and
• Glasgow Caledonian University – BSc (Honours), Rail Operations Management.

The Board congratulates the new executives, and believes they offer an excellent set of leadership skills to accelerate the implementation of our initiatives to turn around Transnet’s operational and financial performance, while ensuring that the company continues to be a valued partner to its customers.

The Board further wishes to thank Ms Hlengiwe Makhathini, who has acted in the Group CFO position since October 2023, for her dedication and commitment in holding the fort during this period of transition in the organisation. She will return to her position of GM: Corporate Finance.

Chairperson of the Transnet Board, Mr Andile Sangqu says: “With the support of the Shareholder, the Board and key stakeholders, the new leadership team is fully equipped to drive transformative change, enhance operational efficiency, and restore Transnet to its rightful position as an enabler of economic growth and development.

“The Board welcomes the stability and certainty provided by the conclusion of the appointments, as it means Transnet can focus fully on driving implementation of the Recovery Plan, for the sustained improvement in the operational and financial performance of the company,” concludes Mr Sangqu.

Meanwhile, the recruitment process for a Group Chief Operations Officer (COO) is underway.

The creation of the COO role is set to put Transnet on a better trajectory by ensuring optimal streamlining and coordination of the organisation’s various operations.

Source: Transnet SOC Ltd

Added 1 March 2024

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Third SA Navy MMIPV to be christened on Friday

by defenceWeb

Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) and the SA Navy (SAN) will christen the latest addition to the fleet – multi-mission inshore patrol vessel (MMIPV) number three – on Friday (1 March).

She is the final platform in Project Biro, originally scheduled for three inshore and three offshore patrol vessels, for the maritime service of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF). SAS King Sekhukhune I (P1571) and SAS King Shaka Zulu (P1572) are on the SAN fleet inventory and it is expected the ship allocated pennant number P1573 will be taken into service in the third quarter of this year following launch and extensive operational testing and evaluation (OTE).

P1573 will sail as SAS Adam Kok if information provided to defenceWeb last year remains unchanged. At that time this publication was informed P1572 would carry the name “King Shaka” which had “Zulu” added soon before she was delivered to the SAN last October. P1573 has, in some communications, been called “Chief Adam Kok” with SAN public relations yet to respond to a defenceWeb inquiry on the exact name she will sail under. The SAN took delivery of its first Damen-built MMIPV SAS King Sekhukhune I in June 2022.

In the SA Navy, ship name selection is a process starting with suitable name submissions, final selection of a name, with a pennant number assigned the new platform and then onto keel laying, ceremonial ship launching, naming and blessing (termed the ship’s christening ceremony by SA Naval Museum Officer in Charge and historian, Commander Leon Steyn) followed by commissioning and taking into service. Steyn further points out before commissioning a new ship undergoes sea trials. This allows for deficiencies to be corrected.

“The preparation and readiness time between launch and commissioning may vary, from as much as three years for large and complex vessels, or as brief as weeks, often the case during the turbulent days of World War II,” according to Steyn.

Ship commissioning, according to him, is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service.

“The term is most commonly applied to placing a naval vessel in active duty with its country’s military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries-old naval tradition. At the moment the commissioning pennant is hoisted and broken at the masthead, a ship becomes a navy command in her own right and takes her place alongside the other active ships of the fleet.”

SAS Adam Kok is, like her Warrior Class counterparts, designed and built for rapid response to, among others, counter piracy, IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing and smuggling ranging from arms to goods (including narcotics) and human trafficking.

Once declared seaworthy, SAS Adam Kok will join her sister ships, including the former strike craft SAS Makhanda (P1569), at Naval Base (NB) Durban – the patrol squadron’s designated home port.

Damen Shipyards Cape Town is the shipbuilder for all three MMIPVs, completing them to the company’s Stan Patrol 6211 design. The 62 metre long, 750 ton vessels have a 20 knot economical speed and a range of 2,000 nautical miles.

Each vessel is fitted with a Reutech 20 mm Super Sea Rogue marine gun and Reutech FORT (frequency modulated optical radar tracker) low probability of intercept (LPI) optronics radar tracking system, and carries a 9 metre and a 7 metre RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat) for boarding and other operations.

Written by defenceWeb and republished with permission. The original article can be found here

Added 29 February 2024

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German frigate Hessen into action in Red Sea, shoots down drones

Africa Ports & Ships

The German Navy frigate Hessen, which has joined the EU naval mission named Aspides (meaning shield) to help protect and secure merchant shipping wanting to cross the lower Red Sea, has quickly entered the action by shooting down several drones launched by the Houthi militia in Yemen.

According to a report from the German operations command, Hessen intercepted and shot down two drones in quick succession on Tuesday night.

It is not reported who or what the drones were targeting but no injuries or damage to shipping has been reported.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed in a statement that in a 15 minute period on Tuesday night “US aircraft and a coalition warship” shot down five Houthi one-way attack drones over the Red Sea.

The drones were identified as originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. CENTCOM said the UAVs presented “an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the U.S. Navy and coalition ships in the region.”

According to a Houthi leader, speaking in a televised address, the Yemeni militia has attacked 48 ships in the Red Sea zone and was escalating their attacks.

In a separate report, the UK-owned merchant ship Rubymar is sinking in the Gulf of Aden, after being struck in the engine room by a Houthi-fired missile.

The crew, which was unharmed, abandoned the ship, which is carrying 22,tons of fertiliser, and were later picked up and taken to safety. Rubymar was bound for Morocco when attacked. sources: dpa Germany Today & CENTCOM

Added 29 February 2024

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Hortgro: CT Port improving, but “still a long way to go”

Africa Ports & Ships

Hortgro, which represents the South African deciduous fruit grower, reported via its newsroom that the backlog of fruit exports at Cape Town Container Terminal has been turned round thanks to new management, more transparency, better cooperation, and ongoing improvements at the port.

However, it cautioned there was still a long road ahead to get port productivity on par with the rest of the world.

The article recorded that during February the Cape Town port has experienced fewer wind delays than in previous years, “resulting in a more fluid situation in the port.”

In addition, it pointed out that a “substantial volume of export fruit did not use the CTP terminal but was trucked to Eastern Cape ports or shipped via specialized reefer vessels that do not load at the Cape Town container terminal.

“All at a considerable expense to the industry.”

Jacques du Preez, Hortgro General Manager of trade and markets, said that there was still a long way to go to return the port to its former glory days.

“It seems like we are heading in the right direction, although the damage has been done to the stone fruit industry,” he stated.

Reporting on how machines and equipment keep breaking down, the Hortgro report said reputational damage to the fruit industry will take a long time to repair.

“Public-private partnerships are the only route to replace equipment and get separation between the landlord Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and operator Transnet Port Terminals (TPT). source: Hortgro & TNPA

Added 29 February 2024

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Cape Town Container Terminal improving

Africa Ports & Ships

The Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) is continuing to report improvement in productivity and in one 24 hour period has exceeded their daily target of 2,302 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 35%.

In that period – Sunday 25 February 2024, the terminal handled 3,110 over the 24 hours.

The terminal last exceeded 3,000 TEUs in a 24-hour period back in November 2023.

Acting Western Cape Region Managing Executive, Oscar Borchards, said that while CTCT’s main priorities include equipment availability and streamlining of processes, the terminal has also identified strengthening people capacity as a key enabler to improve productivity at the terminal.

“There are several strategic initiatives we have put in place in order to upskill employees as investing in our people is as equally important,” he pointed out.

Since December 2023, CTCT has recruited an additional 81 employees, with most enhancing the Operations and Engineering departments as diesel mechanics, millwrights, hauler drivers, and operations checkers, amongst others.

As of 1 March 2024, CTCT will commence with a fourth shift system, in which employees will work a 12-hour cycle per week and enjoy resting periods of four days to ensure maximum safety in the operational environment.

“The fourth shift system will alleviate risks associated with excessive overtime working and employees being fatigued, which results in high absenteeism rate,” said Borchards. “The new shift system also promotes fairness, and healthy balance between employee wellness and operational efficiencies.”

Added 29 February 2024

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Michelle Phillips appointed to position of Transnet Group CEO

Africa Ports & Ships

In a decision that had become increasingly anticipated, the Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr Pravin Gordhan, yesterday (Wednesday) announced the appointment of Ms Michelle Phillips as Transnet’s Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO).

He also announced the appointment of Ms Nosipho Maphumulo as the Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

In addition Mr Russell Baatjies has been confirmed as Chief Executive: Transnet Freight Rail (TFR).

Michelle Phillips had been acting GCEO following the sudden departure of Portia Derby, the previous occupant of that position.

“These are critical appointments which represent our steadfast commitment as government to equip Transnet with a competent and experienced executive leadership team to drive the strategic interventions that the Board has put in place as part of the Transnet recovery plan,” Minister Gordhan said.

According to the Department, there have been improvements in the performance of ports and rails while Phillips was acting.

“She leads the entire business operations and the leadership team. Ms Phillips is well regarded by the market as a problem solver with good networks. She has a track record of being a team player and collaborator to achieve business objectives. Michelle has over 20 years of experience in Transnet in various roles and she knows what it takes to turn the business around,” the Department said in a statement.

TNPA and TPT

Phillips held roles such as Continuous Improvement Manager at Transnet National Ports Authority, Regional Legal and Contracts Manager at Transnet Port Terminals, and Business Unit Executive at Pier 1 Container Terminal from 2001 to 2010.

Afterward, Ms. Phillips served as Executive Head and General Manager at Transnet Port Terminals until November 2017.

Subsequently, she took on the role of General Manager: Customer Growth & Freight Solutions at Transnet until August 2019. From August 2019 to June 2020, she acted as Chief Executive for Transnet Port Terminals and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Transnet Pipelines since August 2020.

TPL

When she joined Transnet Pipelines as the Chief Executive Officer, she found an Operating Division with poor governance, theft, spillage and poor performance and she has turned that around to date. At Transnet Pipelines she has achieved for the first time a green audit report status on supply chain which means the business is clean and without deviations from governance.

She is reported to have saved the business R1,5bn over a period of 18 months. Phillips completed the long outstanding LNG terminals and SAPREF tanks in a short space of time upon her appointment as CE: Transnet Pipelines.

“Transnet plays an important catalytic role in the South African economy,” said Pravin Gordhan.

He added that he is confident that these appointments will provide Transnet with the strategic direction and the ability to execute on its ongoing reforms.

“These will include the implementation of the provisions of the Freight Logistics Roadmap which envisages the granting of access for private rail operators soon,” Gordhan said.

Added 29 February 2024

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SASOL to partner with TFR on rail operation

Africa Ports & Ships

Sasol, the listed global chemicals and energy company (JSE: SOL, NYSE: SSL) is to partner with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), in a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to improve rail transport reliability in South Africa.

TFR is an operating division of Transnet SOC Ltd and owner of South Africa’s railway, ports and pipeline infrastructure.

Under the five-year agreement, Transnet will deliver ammonia from Sasol’s Secunda and Sasolburg facilities to the company’s customers through a dedicated fleet of 128 rail ammonia tankers.

In turn, Sasol will fund Transnet’s maintenance and repair programme for the fleet.

“Sasol’s partnership with Transnet is an investment in South Africa’s rail infrastructure network, a critical economic driver for the country and a key business enabler for Sasol,” said David Mokomela, Sasol Vice President for Base Chemicals.

“The result will improve service to our customers and give us the transport capacity and reliability we need to respond to growing market demand.”

He said that as one of South Africa’s largest companies, Sasol is proud of this public-private partnership, which he said signals progress in advancing the country’s growth objectives.

TFR’s Acting TFR Chief Executive, Russell Baatjies, described the strategic partnership with Sasol as demonstrating what is possible through collaboration and partnership. “A foundational element of TFR’s Response Strategy,” Baatjies said.

“We appreciate Sasol’s support of this deal. It is a significant step toward addressing the industry’s current capacity challenges and protecting the ammonia rail supply — a critical material used in South Africa’s agriculture, mining and chemical markets.”

TFR and Transnet Engineering (TE), who will execute the Sasol ammonia fleet’s maintenance and repair work, expect additional revenue generation from anticipated increased haul volume and the Sasol-funded maintenance and repair work.

Sasol

Sasol Chemicals produces and sells more than 540,000 tonnes of ammonia annually. It is used to make a variety of fertilisers and industrial chemicals for the agriculture, mining, textile, and metalworking industries.

Sasol is a global chemicals and energy company that harnesses its knowledge and expertise to integrate sophisticated technologies and processes into world-scale operating facilities. Sasol safely and sustainably sources, produces and markets a range of high-quality products in 22 countries.

TFR

TFR is Transnet’s largest operating division, which provides the rail network infrastructure and operates rail services across major corridors to transport a broad range of bulk and general freight commodities.

These include mining, agricultural, manufacturing goods, bulk liquids, containerised freight and automotive units and components for export, regional and domestic markets.

TFR is recognised as a heavy haul rail operator for coal and iron ore on export lines and recently extended this capability to export manganese on the iron ore and Port Elizabeth lines. The Freight Rail network and rail services provide strategic links between ports, freight terminals and production hubs.

Added 28 February 2024

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WHARF TALK: multi-purpose heavylifter – BBC DESTINY

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

Recently in Cape Town, entirely as a result of yet more diversionary traffic arriving as a result of further Red Sea shenanigans by the Houthis, it was a case of that old adage regarding the London Bus service, namely ‘You wait around for an age for a multi-purpose heavy lifter to arrive, and then two arrive at the same time’. The Houthi menace was responsible for just one of these two arrivals.

However, it was not just two of the same class of vessel, but both were operated by the same company, with both coming from different directions, and then heading off in opposite directions. However, it was almost a case of ‘You wait around for an age for a multi-purpose heavy lifter to arrive, and then three arrive at the same time’. The third one, also from the same company, arrived just three hours after the other two had departed on their respective voyages. This third arrival was also a result of Houthi activity in the Southern Red Sea.

On 23rd February, at 17:00 in the afternoon, the multi-purpose heavylifter ‘BBC Destiny’ (IMO 9347839) arrived off Cape Town, from Singapore, and entered Cape Town harbour. She proceeded into the Duncan Dock and went alongside the Landing Wall, joining another company vessel on the Landing Wall that had arrived ahead of her, just two hours earlier. As with her company fleetmate ‘BBC Destiny’ was a diversion, with a requirement for bunkers.

Built in 2006 by Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo SA shipbuilders, located at Viana do Castelo, in the far north of Portugal. She is 120 metres in length and has a deadweight of 8,034 tons. She is powered by a single MaK 6M43C six cylinder, four stroke, main engine producing 7,340 bhp (5,400 kW) and driving a controllable pitch propeller for a service speed of 15 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three generators, each providing 350 kW. She has a single Alfa Laval Aalborg oil fired boiler, and a single Alfa Laval Aalborg exhaust gas fired composite boiler. For added manoeuvrability ‘BBC Destiny’ has a bow transverses thruster providing 450 kW.

With three holds, ‘BBC Destiny’ has a cargo carrying capacity of 11,326 m3, with a below deck cargo area of 1,988 m2, and a full above deck area of 1,082 m2. Her tanktop deck strength is 15 tons/m2. She has a container carrying capacity of 506 TEU, with 80 reefer plugs fitted. For her heavylift requirements she has two port side offset TTS NMF electro-hydraulic cranes, each capable of lifting 250 tons, and when used in tandem she is able to undertake a lift of 500 tons.

One of six sisterships, ‘BBC Destiny’ is nominally owned by MS ‘Drago J’ Shipping GmbH, of Haren (Ems) in Germany, with ‘Drago J’ being her name when launched, and with actual ownership being with Jüngerhans Marine Services GmbH, and management by Jüngerhans Heavy-Lift Fleet Services GmbH, both also of Haren (Ems). She is operated by BBC Chartering GmbH, of Leer in Germany. She displays the houseflag of the parent company of Reederei Jüngerhans GmbH on her funnel.

Her voyage to Cape Town began in the port of Tanjung Langsat, which is located in the Malaysian State of Johor, at 01°26’ North 104°00’ East. The port lies just to the north of Singapore, and is primarily a petrochemical and refining port, not a bulk cargo port. As a heavylift vessel, it is assumed she delivered a cargo to Tanjung Langsat, as her draft condition on arrival in Cape Town indicates that she is either in ballast for her next destination, or she is carrying a light cargo load.

The London Bus analogy is down to the fact that just two hours prior to the arrival in Cape Town of ‘BBC Destiny’, the multi-purpose heavylift vessel ‘BBC Kibo’ (IMO 9508421) had arrived off Cape Town at 15:00 in the afternoon of 23rd February, from Houston in the US State of Texas. She was already alongside the Landing Wall, taking bunkers from the port bunker tanker ‘Southern Valour’, when ‘BBC Destiny’ tied up ahead of her.

Two BBC Chartering GmbH vessels in the same port, alongside each other, but having arrived from the opposite ends of the earth, one from the east, and one from the west. But such an occurrence is only fleeting, and with just a short 11 hour period alongside to uplift her bunker requirements, as well as any stores and fresh provisions, ‘BBC Destiny’ was ready to continue with her voyage.

At 04:00 in the morning of 24th February she sailed from Cape Town, bound to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Such a voyage was not necessarily one that was part of the diversionary fleet passing Cape Town, as a voyage from Malaysia to Brazil could naturally be routed via the Cape Sea Route.

In the case of the ‘BBC Kibo’, she was ready to depart just one hour later, and after a period of just 14 hours alongside, again merely in order to uplift bunkers, stores and fresh provisions, she sailed from Cape Town at 05:00 in the morning of 24th February. According to her AIS she was bound for Ras Laffan in Qatar. Both her port of departure, and her ultimate destination port are both heavily linked to the oil and gas industry, and a routing via the Cape sea route is not a natural one, indicating that ‘BBC Kibo’ was a diversionary arrival due to the Red Sea issues.

Just three hours after ‘BBC Kibo’ had sailed, and four hours after ‘BBC Destiny’ had sailed, the multi-purpose heavylift vessel ‘BBC Naples’ (IMO 9484223) arrived off Cape Town, at 08:00 in the morning of 24th February. She had arrived from the port of Masan in South Korea, and she was placed alongside the Landing Wall, also for the purposes of uplifting bunkers, and soon the second port bunker tanker ‘Lipuma’ came alongside ‘BBC Naples’ to transfer bunkers to her.

Her stay in Cape Town was also extremely short, just 7 hours, and at 15:00 the same afternoon, she sailed from Cape Town, bound for Gdynia in Poland. Once more, a voyage from South Korea to Poland would not have ordinarily routed via the Cape sea route, and she was also, most likely, a victim of the Houthi menace.

This is not the first time that ‘BBC Naples’ has called into Cape Town in the last six months, as she arrived in the Mother City on 30th September, from Haikou in China, in order to discharge Steel Bars. She sailed to Dar es Salaam on completion of her cargo work, and she was covered in Wharf Talk in the Africa Ports & Ships edition of 3rd October 2023. Her story is worth a read, not just for her technical details for those who like that aspect, but for an incident in Sri Lanka, where local politicians complained of Chinese interference in a search request on ‘BBC Naples’.

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SAN Chief attends Indian Navy Exercise Milan

by defenceWeb

An SA Navy (SAN) delegation headed by Vice Admiral Monde Lobese was in the Indian city Visakhapatnam this month (February) participating in and observing Exercise Milan, widely regarded as the flagship Indian Navy event.

Milan (meaning Meeting in Hindi) ran from 19 to 27 February and was the 12th iteration of the Indian Navy’s multilateral naval exercise under the aegis of its Eastern Naval Command. Enhancing professional interaction between friendly navies and gaining experience in multilateral large force operations at sea was Milan’s central aim, working through harbour and sea phases.

While South Africa’s senior sailor kept busy fostering what SAN Corporate Communications said were “mutually beneficial ties with other participants, which will translate into combined naval exercises, ship visits, training programme exchanges and technical expertise benchmarking”, other officers in the SAN delegation were involved in the harbour phase.

This, SAN Corporate Communication reported, included a table top exercise, “interactions with young officers, outstation cultural tours and the international city parade”.

Among those Lobese met at Exercise Milan 2024 were Chief of Staff of the Indian Navy, Admiral Hari Kumar; Deputy Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Lvovich Kasatonov; Commodore FJ Mwasikolile of the Tanzanian Navy Forces Command and Rear Admiral Nelson de Oliveira Leite of the Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil).

Exercise Milan, according to the Indian Navy, evolved from a regional exercise into “a prestigious maritime exercise with 58 friendly foreign countries” involved this year. Milan 2022 saw the participation of 39 friendly foreign countries from several continents.

The sea phase this year (from 24 to 27 February) saw 20 Indian Navy ships and 15 foreign naval vessels in large force manoeuvres with advanced air defence operations, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare operations on the exercise roster.

Navies from the US, Japan, Australia, France, Bangladesh, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, among others, are participating in the 12th edition of the ‘Milan’ exercise that is aiming to bolster maritime cooperation among like-minded nations.

Participating navies included those from the United States, Japan, Australia, France, Bangladesh, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Milan was first held in 1995 with the participation of Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand in line with India’s ‘Look East’ policy.

India and South Africa enjoy close defence ties, with regular port visits by Indian Navy warships. For example, last year the INS Sunayna visited Durban in August and the Talwar class frigate INS Trishul visited Durban at the beginning of June while on an operational deployment in the Indian Ocean.

Written by defenceWeb and republished with permission. The original article can be found here

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Projects at Western Cape ports aim at repositioning and supporting ‘world-class’ port infrastructure – TNPA

Africa Ports & Ships

Transnet National Ports Authority (NPA) says that it has several projects in the pipeline that will help reposition and support the Western Region ports of Cape Town, Saldanha and Mossel Bay in the provision of ‘world class port infrastructure.’

Cape Town

Among these projects are Phase2B of the Cape Town Container Terminal expansion at the Port of Cape Town.

As part of the project, TNPA is currently finalising a detailed design of the rail infrastructure upgrade which it describes as a key deliverable that will enable the construction phase.

The design work for this will be completed by December this year, with the project scope including container stack upgrades as well as a truck staging area and automation.

On completion the expansion will see the terminal capacity increase from 1 million TEU to 1.4 million TEU, with an investment value of approximately R1.775 billion. Project commencement is planned for September 2025.

Culemborg Intermodal Logistics Precinct Development

TNPA is also reviewing and finalising precinct plans for the Culemborg Intermodal Logistics Precinct Development in the Port of Cape Town, and that will be followed by a request for proposals during the 2024/25 financial year. This project will culminate in the development of land parcels near the port to create additional back of port capacity.

Saldanha Bay

Key projects at the Port of Saldanha include the extension of the multi-purpose terminal and the development of berth 205, which will cater for rig repairs.

The new berth will also provide additional capacity for break bulk operations.

Mossel Bay

Meanwhile, strategic initiatives in the Port of Mossel Bay include the construction of the cruise reception facility to enable international cruise vessels to call to the port.

The slipway rehabilitation project planned for 2024/25 financial year will increase the port’s slipway and cradle capacity from 200 to 500 tons.

Acting TNPA Managing Executive for the Western Region ports, Captain Vernal Jones, described the execution of these projects as critical to the improvement of operational performance of the South African ports.

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SAECS service advisory – London Gateway port omission

Africa Ports & Ships

The South Africa Europe Container Service (SAECS) will see a port omission affecting the container ship ONE Readiness which is currently on her northern leg of voyage 240N/241S.

Both Ocean Network Express (ONE), and Maersk, who are members of the SAECS consortium operating between South Africa and Northern Europe, advise that due to operational delays in South Africa and to maintain her service schedule, the vessel ONE Readiness v.240N/241S will omit her London Gateway call.

London Gateway imports will be discharged in Rotterdam and connected to the vessel Santa Teresa v.235N, ETA London Gateway 15 March 2024.

Cargo originally planned for loading from London Gateway will be transferred to Santa Teresa v.240S, ETA London Gateway 15 March 2024.

According to a Maersk advisory, ONE Readiness was delayed in South Africa due to bad weather and terminal inefficiencies. The ship was also expected to be delayed in the Bay of Biscay due to bad weather.

“This decision has been taken to recover schedule and be back into SA on time.”

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Damen Cape Town receives order for 7 new TNPA tugs

Africa Ports & Ships

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is injecting a R1 billion investment in its marine fleet renewal programme through the acquisition of seven tugboats aimed at enhancing marine operations at its commercial seaports.

The seven tugboats will replace marine craft that has reached their operational lifespan at the ports of Durban and East London.

TNPA has awarded two contracts to a shipbuilding company, Damen Shipyards Cape Town, to deliver the seven tugboats from April to August 2024.

From this procured tug fleet, the Port of Durban has been allocated five tugboats and two will go to the Port of East London.

The tight delivery timeline suggests the possibility that some if not more of the tugs may come from existing stocks built elsewhere. In addition to the Cape Town yard Damen has more than 60 shipyards across the world and frequently maintains a stock of almost ready-built tugs.

What is also not known at this stage is the type of propulsion that will be installed on the latest order. Most recent orders utilised Voith Schneider propulsion.

“This investment demonstrates TNPA’s ongoing commitment in providing reliable marine craft at our South African ports, which will enable us to effectively service the marine industry and respond to global shipping demands,” said TNPA Chief Harbour Master, Captain Rufus Lekala.

The procured tugboats boast the latest hull design and propulsion, as well as a 60-ton bollard pull which is a much-needed improvement from the bollard pull of the existing older tugboats that will be replaced that ranges between 32 and 40-ton bollard pull.

The 60-ton bollard pull meets international standards and makes the craft highly manoeuvrable while guiding larger and newer vessels safely in and out of the ports.

TNPA says its marine fleet programme demonstrates a reimagined focus in ensuring that the Ports Authority delivers on its mandate of providing a competitive port system in its role as an enabler of economic growth.

The latest order for seven tugboats marks a radical departure in tugboat procurement for the TNPA, which for the past 40 or so years has placed orders almost exclusively with the Durban-based fully South African firm currently named Sandock Austral – previously Southern African Shipyards.

A seemingly unresolved dispute that arose between the two organisations before the completion of the previous order for nine tugs, saw the final vessel in that series remaining three-quarters completed but never delivered while sitting on blocks at the shipyard.

That’s a story for another day.

The most recently delivered ‘tug-type’ vessel ordered by TNPA is the plough dredger, described as a tug, and built by Damen Cape Town and delivered earlier in 2023.

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WHARF TALK: sail training ship – STS PICTON CASTLE

 

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

If there is one thing that every single mariner, casual maritime observer, marine industry worker, or simple member of the public who is in the right place at the right time, will all agree on, it is that the sight of an approaching tall ship is awe inspiring. There can never be enough times that a windjammer arrives at a South African port. Sadly, that magical spectacle only happens, at best, once a year, and even then it is usually, but not always, limited to Cape Town.

On 23rd February, at midday, the sail training ship (STS) ‘Picton Castle’ (IMO 5375010) arrived off Cape Town, from the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, and entered Cape Town harbour. She proceeded into the Duncan Dock and went alongside the Passenger Cruise Terminal at E berth, nowadays a seemingly normal berth for any arrival with a substantial number of mixed crew, irrespective of the vessel actually being a passenger vessel.

As with just about every sail training vessel, though not all, the history of ‘Picton Castle’ is long and varied. She was built in 1928 by Cochrane and Sons shipyard at Selby in the English county of Yorkshire. She was built as a steel hulled, steam powered, fishing trawler for Consolidated Fisheries Ltd., of Swansea in South Wales. One of five sisterships, all named after castles, she operated out of both the port of Swansea, and the port of Milford Haven for the next ten years.

In August 1939, with the threat of war against Nazi Germany growing, ‘Picton Castle’ was requisitioned by the British Admiralty, and converted into a minesweeper, becoming ‘HMS Picton Castle (PN)’ for the duration of the Second World War. Her naval operations not only included minesweeping, but also conducting convoy escort duties.

In early 1945 she inadvertently was given the title ‘Liberator of Norway’, when she entered Bergen harbour, with her Royal Navy White Ensign flying, and just as the Nazis were abandoning the city. She was the first allied warship to enter a Norwegian harbour as the German occupation of Norway came to an end.

After the cessation of hostilities in 1945, ‘Picton Castle’ was returned to her pre-war owners, and continued fishing in the Irish Sea area, and Western Approaches, until 1955 when she was sold to Norwegian owners, who converted her into a coastal cargo vessel. At the same time as her conversion, her steam engine was removed, and replaced by a diesel engine.

She continued as a commercial motor vessel, with numerous name and ownership changes, until the late 1980s when she was retired from service. In 1993 her current owners purchased her, with plans to convert her to a sail training vessel, and sailed her across the Atlantic Ocean, to New York City in the USA, where she remained for the next three years.

In 1994, she was transferred to Lunenburg, in the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia, where her conversion to a three masted Barque was undertaken. After the completion of her overhaul, refit, and conversion, she was given back her original name of ‘Picton Castle’. By 1997, she was ready to undertake the kind of voyage that she has become famous for, a sail training circumnavigation of the glove. Her first circumnavigation commenced on 25th November 1997.

She is owned, operated, and managed by Windward Isles Sailing Ship Co. Ltd., of Lunenburg in Nova Scotia, under the Directorship of Captain Daniel Moreland, an accomplished Sailing Master, who was awarded the American Sail Training Association’s “Sail Trainer of the Year” award in 1999, on the successful completion of the first circumnavigation voyage of ‘Picton Castle’ which concluded in June 1999.

This was followed by his award in 2011 of “Sail Trainer of the Year” by Sail Training International, and in 2016 he received the STI Lifetime Achievement Award, given to an individual who has dedicated his or her life’s work to getting people to sea under sail, and who has worked to preserve the traditions and skills of sail training.

As a Barque, ‘Picton Castle’ is 55 metres in length, with a gross registered tonnage of 284 tons. She carries a sail area of 1,160 m2 on her three masts. For those not fully aware of what constitutes a Barque, it is a sailing vessel of at least three masts, of which the forward masts are square rigged, except for the aft mizzen mast, which is fore and aft rigged. For those times when there is no wind, or when manoeuvring within a harbour, or anchorage, she has a Burmeister & Wain (B&W) Alpha main engine producing 690 bhp (515 kW).

Despite her main occupation as that of a sail training ship, ‘Picton Castle’ still has a single cargo hold, with a cargo carrying capacity of 100 tons. This is used mainly to deliver urgent cargo, medicines, and other commodities to isolated communities, such as that of Pitcairn Island, when she is undertaking her sail training voyages.

With a professional crew of 12, and accommodation for up to 40 sail trainees, ‘Picton Castle’ has continued with her circumnavigation voyages since that first one between 1997 and 1999. On that occasion, her voyage route included her first calls at both Durban, where she arrived in February 1999, and Cape Town where she arrived on 9th March. It was to be the start of a long relationship with South Africa, and especially Cape Town.

To date, ‘Picton Castle’ has completed eight circumnavigations, with virtually all of them having a call of a few weeks, to over a month, at Cape Town. She is currently undertaking her ninth round the world (RTW) voyage. Her calls at Cape Town have included February 2006 (4th RTW voyage), February 2011 (5th RTW voyage), January 2015 (6th RTW voyage), February 2019 (7th RTW voyage), February 2022 (8th RTW voyage), and now February 2024 for her 9th RTW voyage.

Her current voyage began from Lunenburg on 15th April 2023, and she sailed south through the Caribbean Sea, and into the Pacific Ocean, via the Panama Canal, sailing through the South Seas islands to Bali, in Indonesia. She sailed for Cape Town, from Bali, and via Reunion, with her originally planned ETA for Cape Town, given back in early 2023, as 21st February. That she arrived just 48 hours later, after a sailing voyage of ten months, is an impressive achievement.

There are going to be those who are wondering what the costs are for embarking on such an incredible experience, as a sail trainee. For being aboard ‘Picton Castle’ for the whole voyage of circumnavigation, the cost is US$68,000 (ZAR1.31 million). If you were a sail trainee on the voyage leg from Bali to Cape Town, the cost was US$17,000 (ZAR327,481), and if you are a sail trainee on the forthcoming final leg from Cape Town to Lunenburg, then the cost is US$23,000 (ZAR443,062).

For those who do not have access to such sums of money, or sponsorship, Sail Training International offers the ‘Oman Bursary Scheme’. The scheme is aimed at disadvantaged people aged between 15-25 years old, regardless of sailing experience, physical ability or nationality. It offers the chance for those who may not normally be able to embark on a sail training voyage, or take part in a Tall Ships event, to do so.

After arrival in Cape Town, and going through the legal issues of clearing in, and going through the customs and immigration procedures at the Passenger Cruise Terminal, ‘Picton Castle’ shifted to her regular Cape Town berth, that of lying alongside the Cape Grace Hotel in the V&A Basin. Interestingly, she used her own pinnace as a tug to move her off the quayside at E berth.

She is expected to remain in Cape Town for a number of weeks, before sailing for home, via Lüderitz in Namibia, St. Helena Island, and the Windward, and Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. She is scheduled to arrive home in Lunenburg on 13th July. It will be the conclusion of a round the world voyage in excess of 30,000 nautical miles.

Her next voyage will be her tenth circumnavigation voyage of the globe, where she will sail from Lunenburg on 7th October this year, and will sail a traditional route, following the westerly winds, from West to East, with outward bound calls including Tristan da Cunha, and a scheduled arrival in Cape Town on 3rd March 2025.

From Cape Town, she will sail to Reunion, and then on to South Australia, following the Grain Race route, before crossing the South Pacific and rounding Cape Horn, for a return to Virginia, in the USA. This voyage will be a circumnavigation in the true spirit of the square rigger, via the three great Capes. A voyage where the Sail Trainee, before the mast, would be entitled to wear a gold earring in both earlobes, after rounding both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.

In December 2006, in rough weather, a crew member, Laura Gainey, was swept overboard from ‘Picton Castle’, whilst she was in the Atlantic Ocean. Sadly, she could not be recovered, and was presumed drowned. The death was investigated by the Cook Islands government, under whose flag ‘Picton Castle’ flies, who concluded that the death was accidental.

A subsequent investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, where ‘Picton Castle’ is home ported, found that a lack of safety equipment, and the decision by the Master to sail with an inexperienced, and untrained crew, contributed to her death.

For the nomenclature fan, ‘Picton Castle’ is a medieval castle, located at 51°47’ North 004°53’ West, near Haverfordwest, in the county of Pembrokeshire, in West Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century, and once considered a stately home, today both the castle, and estate, are open to the public, and managed by the Picton Castle Trust, a registered charity.

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Fishing: New guidelines – IMO ILO accord

Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

A joint meeting held from 12 to 16 February in Geneva brought together members of both organizations IMO and ILO, along with government officials and representatives of fishing vessel owners, fishers and non-governmental agencies to finalize the guidelines, which will contribute to the improved health and safety of fishers, and help to reduce fishing sector accidents and fatalities.

The outcome of the meeting will be submitted to the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee for approval in May 2024, as well as to the Governing Body of the ILO in November 2024.

Need to ensure good health

Work on fishing vessels is strenuous and includes catching and often processing fish in the challenging marine environment.

Fishers work and live at sea for days, weeks, months and even years at a time, in close quarters, and often far from access to immediate medical care. Many work on fishing vessels flying the flag of countries other than their home country. All need to undergo appropriate medical examination to ensure they are healthy and fit for their jobs.

Support for examinations

The guidelines will support medical practitioners and authorities conducting examinations, in line with the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188) which requires fishers to hold a medical certificate attesting to their fitness.

It is understood that the IMO will introduce a similar requirement through its upcoming and newly developed Code of the International Convention on the Standards of Training and Certification of Watchkeeping of Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F).

Guidance on standards

These guidelines refer to the relevant international legal instruments. They provide guidance for competent authorities and for persons recognized by competent authorities to conduct medical examinations and to issue medical certificates. They set out vision and heating standards, physical capability requirements, fitness criteria for medication use and common medical conditions, formats for recording medical examinations and medical certificates. They also address the frequency and conduct of examinations, the right to privacy, and appeals procedures if a certificate is denied.

Occupational health surveillance

In addition to the medical examination guidelines, the tripartite meeting of representatives of governments, fishing vessel owners and fishers noted the importance of fisher’s programmes. The meeting requested the ILO to develop guidance on this subject through a tripartite consultation process with the IMO and others, drawing on principles set out in ILO occupational safety and health instruments as well work that has already being undertaken by social partners and maritime medical experts.

The tripartite meeting took note of the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which was amended in 2022 to specify that all ILO Member States have an obligation to respect, promote and realize the newly added principle concerning the fundamental right to a safety and health working environment.

It is reported that subject to decisions of relevant IMO and ILO governing bodies, the guidelines for medical examination of fishers will be widely disseminated by the two Organizations.

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Wallenius Wilhelmsen looks to expand fleet with further four Shaper class PCTCs

Africa Ports & Ships

Wallenius Wilhelmsen has declared options to build an additional four next-generation Shaper Class pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessels.

Each with a capacity of 9,300 CEU, the methanol dual fuel vessels can utilize alternative fuel sources, such as methanol, upon delivery.

They will also be ammonia-ready and able to be converted as soon as ammonia becomes available in a safe and secure way.

These next generation vessels will play a key role in the introduction of Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s net zero emissions end-to-end service by 2027, says Xavier Leroi, EVP & COO Shipping Services.

“Together with our customers we are committed to further shaping our industry and accelerating towards net zero. These new vessels are a vital part of that journey,” he says.

Eight vessels plus options

This latest commitment brings the total number of Shaper Class vessels currently on order with Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu) to eight. Wallenius Wilhelmsen also retains further options.

The first of the Shaper Class vessels already ordered are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2026. The four additional vessels under the declared options will be delivered between May and November 2027.

The Wallenius Wilhelmsen group remains a market leader in roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping and vehicle logistics, managing the distribution of cars, trucks, rolling equipment, and breakbulk to customers all over the world.

The company operates a fleet of around 125 vessels servicing 15 trade routes to six continents, a global inland distribution network, 66 processing centres, and eight marine terminals. With its head office in Oslo, Norway, the Wallenius Wilhelmsen has 9,545 employees in 28 countries worldwide, including offices in Durban, South Africa.

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Norwegian Dawn allowed to dock in Port Louis

Africa Ports & Ships

The Norwegian Dawn cruise ship, which arrived off Mauritius from Madagascar and South Africa at the weekend with reports of possible cholera aboard, has been allowed to dock in Port Louis late Monday.

Passengers are expected to be allowed to disembark today (Tuesday).

This follows health officials finding no evidence of cholera on board, although a small number of passengers were confined to the sick bay or their cabins due to gastrointestinal illness.

About a hundred more passengers who became ill during the voyage had fully recovered.

The ship was not permitted to stop on a scheduled call at Pointe des Galets in Réunion, prior to arriving at Port Louis, Mauritius.

At the time of reporting it was not known whether passengers, at the end of their cruise segment, were being allowed to disembark for their return home. Over 2,000 new passengers had meanwhile arrived in Mauritius with the expectation of joining the ship for the next part of Norwegian Dawn’s cruise in the Indian Ocean.

Since the beginning of January there have been over 200,000 reported cases of cholera across 13 countries of southern and east Africa, including the Comores and Madagascar, adding to the scare. More than 3,000 deaths from the disease have been reported from these regions.

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Health scare prevents Norwegian Dawn from landing in Mauritius

Africa Ports & Ships

The cruise ship Norwegian Dawn is ‘aimlessly floating’ off the island of Mauritius after health officials in Port Louis banned the ship from berthing at the end of a cruise from Cape Town.

Norwegian Dawn, with a reported 2,200 passengers and a crew of around a thousand departed Cape Town and sailed via Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay and northern Madagascar before reaching Mauritius. During the final leg of the cruise the ship bypassed a scheduled visit to Pointe des Galets on Reunion, because of the health issue.

It is understood that French health officials on Reunion declined permission for the ship to berth.

During the cruise a number of passengers reported feeling ill with vomiting and diarrhea and were quarantined on board, but before the illness spread to several others. There has been speculation of cholera but this is not confirmed.

A port health official in Port Louis said that about 100 passengers had complained of diarrhea and had recovered, while another 15 experienced more complicated symptoms which required them to be quarantined on board.

Meanwhile, all those on board are due to leave the ship in Port Louis and fly home, while 2,279 new passengers have arrived on the island where they expected to join the ship on Sunday 25 February for the onward voyage. After arriving on the island and queueing at the cruise terminal in anticipation of joining the ship, they were all taken to hotels instead.

Some passengers are reported as attempting to cancel their planned cruise in order to avoid boarding a ‘quarantined ship’.

In Mauritius a port official was quoted saying “the decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken in order to avoid any health risks.”

A statement by Norwegian Cruise Line reads:

“During Norwegian Dawn’s Feb. 13, 2024 South Africa voyage, a small number of guests experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness. Upon the ship’s return to Port Louis, Mauritius, the vessel’s management team met with local authorities to confirm precautions and actions were being taken to ensure the wellbeing of all on board.

“Due to additional testing being required by local authorities before being allowed entry, the government of Mauritius has delayed disembarkation for the current cruise and embarkation for the next cruise by two days to Feb. 27, 2024.”

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WHARF TALK: P&O liner – S.S. HIMALAYA

Story by Jay Gates

The current daily arrivals in both Durban and Cape Town, as a result of indiscriminate Houthi missile attacks in the Red Sea, is a reminder that the route to, and from, the Suez Canal has presented the casual maritime observers of South Africa with a plethora of unusual, and sometimes exciting, rare arrivals over the past seven decades, and always due to tensions and unrest in the Middle East that has usually closed the Suez Canal, although that is not the case today.

These unusual arrivals of the past, as now, are generally from those vessels of shipping companies whose trade is predominantly that from Western Europe to the Indian sub-continent, the Far East, or to Australian and New Zealand, and whose voyage routings would always be via the Suez Canal. It was in the days before air travel took away the joys of a passage at sea, on a passenger liner belonging to one of the great shipping lines of the colonial powers.

Recently an arrival in Durban brought back memories of these rare arrivals from the large passenger fleet of one of the world’s foremost and greatest shipping companies, namely those magnificent liners of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Ltd., better known as the P&O Line. It was the recent arrival of the ‘P&O Liberté’ in Durban, whilst en route to the United Kingdom, from her builders yard in China, which evoked memories of such callers.

Sadly, as years passed, and times changed, the great P&O shipping empire has effectively been erased. The general cargo division was initially combined with the fleet of the great Dutch shipping company, Nedlloyd, before being subsumed in the container behemoth that is Maersk. The ferry division, of which the ‘P&O Liberté’ belonged, was sold off to Dubai owners, who have removed the British Flag, and the British crews, despite operating solely from UK ports.

The great passenger division went under the control of the US based Carnival Corporation conglomerate. Not being British owners, the ethos of P&O was erased by having non-British officers, changing the colours from the famous white hull, and primrose yellow funnel, and now naming newbuilds with names that have no historical connection to P&O liners of the past.

As a young lad, growing up in the still colonial era of a fading British Empire, my formative maritime years, as a 9 and 10 year old, were spent in Hong Kong in the late 1960s, where my father was working. I remember the arrival of all eleven of the great P&O passenger fleet of the era, all on a mix of liner voyages and tourist cruises between the UK, Far East and Australia, and all of them berthing at the great Ocean Terminal, next to the Star Ferry terminal in Kowloon.

The liners, in size order, were ‘Canberra’, ‘Oriana’, ‘Orsova’, ‘Oronsay’, ‘Orcades’, ‘Arcadia’, ‘Iberia’, ‘Himalaya’, ‘Chusan’, ‘Cathay’, and ‘Chitral’. I was fortunate to have boarded all of them, as a visitor, except for ‘Oriana’, between 1967 and 1970, when they called in at Hong Kong, and which is where my nautical passion was forged.

Under normal circumstances, the casual maritime observer in South Africa would never have had the opportunity to see any of this fleet of beautiful passenger liners, as their routes took them via the Suez Canal, other than ‘Cathay’ and ‘Chitral’, who both plied the route between Australia and the Far East. It was the closure of the Suez Canal that amended that omission.

Of that great fleet of passenger liners, only the maritime historian would be aware of which one of them came first, in terms of building and delivery. At the end of the Second World War, the P&O Line had suffered greatly as a result of losses in that 1939-1945 conflict. The company had lost an astonishing 182 vessels, totaling over 1,250,000 tons. With the end of the war in 1945 a rebuilding programme was put in place for the war ravaged Passenger fleet.

In 1946, P&O placed an order with the Vickers Armstrong shipyard at Barrow-in –Furness, located in the northern English county of Lancashire, for a passenger liner to serve the traditional P&O route from the United Kingdom to India, via Suez, and on to Australia. She was to receive a traditional P&O name, and the third to receive that name in the company history. She was to be called ‘Himalaya’, and she would cost GB£3.5 million to build. A small fortune.

Launched on 5th October 1948, by Lady Curry, the wife of the P&O Chairman, ‘Himalaya’ at that time was to be the largest, and the fastest, passenger liner that P&O had ever owned. She was 216 metres in length and had a gross registered tonnage of 27,955 tons. She was powered by two Vickers-Armstrong single reduction geared steam turbines (HP+LP) producing 42,550 shp (31,730 kW), driving two fixed pitch propellers for a service speed of 22 knots.

She was commissioned in August 1949, immediately entering service from Tilbury, to India and Australia. Despite being GB£1 million over budget, and 18 months late, when she entered service, ‘Himalaya’ was the largest passenger liner built anywhere in the world in 1949. She carried 758 first class passengers in 443 cabins, and 401 tourist class passengers in 147 cabins, who were looked after by a crew of 572.

Despite being a passenger liner, ‘Himalaya’ was also fitted for the carriage of refrigerated cargo, and had three cargo holds, with a reefer cargo capacity of 235,000 ft3, allowing her to return to the UK with much needed Australian beef and mutton. She was also the first vessel to be equipped with a Weir evaporating plant for distilling fresh water from sea water.

In 1953 she followed her smaller sister ‘Chusan’, by having a Thorneycroft funnel top fitted. Both vessels originally had short funnels that caused soot and smut to fall on the aft passenger decks, which was a serious passenger relations problem. P&O did not want to heighten the funnel, and after testing various alternatives they chose a smoke-deflecting top designed in Southampton by Thorneycroft, and it proved to be extremely effective, as well as improving the appearance of both ‘Chusan’ and ‘Himalaya’.

It was the Suez Crisis of 1956, which gave the casual maritime observer in South Africa the opportunity to see ‘Himalaya’ for the first time. It was as a result of Egyptian President Nasser attempting to nationalise the Suez Canal, which caused the British and French governments to intervene militarily to prevent it happening. The closure of the canal was the obvious outcome.

After completing another liner voyage from the UK to Australia, ‘Himalaya’ had arrived in Sydney on 28th September 1956, and was preparing for her return voyage, when the British Government warned all shipping to remain clear of the Suez Canal area, due to rising political tensions in the region, and the impending military operation.

P&O managers rerouted ‘Himalaya’ back to the UK via Cape Town and Las Palmas, for bunkering purposes. Events in Egypt resulted in the Suez Canal closing in October 1956, at around the same time that ‘Himalaya’ arrived in Cape Town. Her arrival allowed the folk of Cape Town the sight of a P&O passenger liner, in all her finery, arriving in the Mother City, and possibly the first time that a P&O liner had arrived since the convoy days of World War Two.

In 1959 she was refitted with a Denny-Brown stabiliser system, to lessen the effects of rolling whilst underway. The system worked extremely well and reduced rolling on ‘Himalaya’ by up to 60%. In 1963, the decision to remove her from her traditional liner service was taken, and she was converted into a one class ship, carrying 1,416 Tourist Class passengers. The refit also resulted in her receiving an air conditioning system throughout the vessel.

She was to be seen again in South African ports when the Arab-Israeli wars erupted in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which again resulted in the closure of the Suez Canal for a lengthy period of time. During this period virtually all of the great P&O passenger liner fleet were to be seen in both Durban and Cape Town, including ‘Himalaya’.

In 1974, after a career of just 25 years, and having travelled over 1.9 million nautical miles (3,468,688 km), she was sold to Tong Cheng Steel Manufacturing Ltd., of Taiwan, for scrap. She sailed from Southampton on 16th May 1974, bound for Sydney in Australia, via the Cape, due to the continued closure of the Suez Canal. It was to be her final voyage on that famous route.

She called into both Cape Town and Durban in October 1974, for the last time, and after a short cruise in Australian waters, ‘Himalaya’ was retired from P&O service on 31st October in Sydney. She made a final one way cruise to Hong Kong, before her final ‘essential crew only’ voyage to Kaohsiung, where by 1975 her scrapping was complete and she was no more.

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‘Cause and effect’. Red Sea surcharges and the power of uncertainty

Africa Ports & Ships

Xeneta weekly update
by Peter Sand

A well-known phrase, defined as ‘the principle of causality, establishing one event or action as the direct result of another’.

If an example were needed to sit underneath this dictionary definition, you could easily reference the introduction of surcharges in ocean freight shipping due to the ongoing situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

That is why Xeneta has this week added Red Sea surcharges to the platform.

Why does it matter? Well, because at Xeneta we continuously stress the importance of using data to inform decision-making and for a long time our customers have been able to monitor and analyse surcharges relating to fuel, congestion and peak season.

Now, they can add Red Sea surcharges to the list along with EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) surcharges, which are also now on the platform.

After all, there’s little point knowing about the cause unless you also understand the effect.

Effects are felt most acutely on spot market backhauls.

When it comes to the Red Sea crisis, the ‘cause’ has been well documented over the past few months. So, let’s take a closer look at the ‘effect’.

Diversions away from the Suez Canal have hit ocean freight trades hard from Asia to the Mediterranean, North Europe and US East Coast. However, it could be argued cargoes moving in the opposite direction on the backhauls have been hit even harder by these surcharges.

Red Sea Surcharges

Effect – North Europe to Far East.

Moving from USD 400 per FEU by the end of 2023 to more than USD 1,000 per FEU by mid February, market average spot freight rates have gone up by 150% in six weeks.

Within these market average spot rates, some shippers have been paying upwards of USD 1,000 in additional costs while others have managed to avoid surcharges altogether, with an average of USD 591 per FEU

Effect – Mediterranean to Far East

Surcharges are spread in the range of USD 400 (mid-low) and USD 1,100 (mid-high) per FEU, with an average of USD 639.

Effect – North Europe to Australia and New Zealand

Shippers and BCOs are paying average surcharges of USD 854 per FEU within a total spot rate of USD 2,400 per FEU. This positions the trade slightly above a classic backhaul and slightly below a classic fronthaul in terms of the total spot rate and percentage of surcharges to overall cost.

Effects are wide-ranging

The effects of the crisis are highly individual, and therefore it is very much a case of every business looking after its own individual interests. Shippers, carriers and freight forwarders are fighting as hard as they can and entering negotiations with the single aim of reducing the effect of the crisis on their business as much as possible – whether that is through surcharges or service reliability.

Surcharges are more significant on long-term rates

For a standard FEU, the Red Sea surcharge for exports out of the Mediterranean on long term contracts sits higher than North European exports, with a spread of USD 162. However, while the market low for both of these trades sits at USD 400, the market high sits at USD 1,295 for the Mediterranean and USD 750 for North Europe.

Bringing a reefer out of North Europe heading for Far East, the average surcharge sits at USD 1,007 per box.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) surcharges revealed

Some 50 days after coming into force, the much talked about EU ETS surcharges, which were introduced on 1 January, are now showing up consistently in Xeneta crowdsourced data and are included on the platform.

If you want to know a little more about the cause of EU ETS then you can read more here, but for now we’ll concentrate on some effects.

It’s of little surprise that the highest average EU ETS surcharge is paid for a reefer from a main port in the Mediterranean to a main port on the US East Coast, with USD 132 added to the cost of transportation.

A similar non-surprise comes from the fact the EU ETS surcharge for the fronthaul Transatlantic is averaging USD 71 per FEU, whereas the backhaul from the US East Coast to North Europe is USD 49 per FEU.
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At the other end of the spectrum, EU ETS surcharges for exports out of the Mediterranean going to the Far East adds only USD 16 per TEU, with no discount received for moving more cargo since the same surcharge for a FEU sits at USD 33.

Cause and effect – how to make sense of it all

Many more trades and surcharge benchmarks in addition to the above can be found on the Xeneta platform. If you are a Xeneta customer, then you will already have received an update on the Red Sea surcharges added to the platform.

If you understand the cause, but maybe aren’t too sure about how it is affecting your business then the Xeneta platform can help you to make sense of it all.

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Djibouti port security training

Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

The latest in a series of IMO maritime security workshops took place in week ending 24 February in Djibouti under the EU-funded Regional Programme for Maritime Security in the Red Sea Area known as the Red Sea Project.

The Red Sea Project aims to assist participating countries in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to enhance maritime security and safety in the Red Sea Area, in line with the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy.

The workshop, which ran from 20 to 22 February, trained representatives of the Designated Authority and port facility security officers on how to conduct a Port Facility Security Assessment (PFSA).

Mandatory requirement

The PFSA is a mandatory requirement for Contracting Governments to the SOLAS Convention, and an essential part of developing or updating the port facility security plan through a risk analysis of all aspects of a port facility’s operations to determine which parts of it are more susceptible to be the subject of an attack.

Through this process, threats against critical assets in ports are identified, their likelihood is established and the vulnerability to these threats is evaluated.

Broad spectrum of risk

Gaps related to physical security, structural integrity, personnel protection systems, procedural policies, telecommunications systems, relevant infrastructure, utilities and other areas that pose a risk to persons, property or operations within the port facility are assessed.

Countermeasures are designed to ensure that the most effective security measures are employed to reduce the vulnerability of a port facility or ship/port interface to the possible threats.

The Red Sea Project, funded by the European Union, is delivered by IMO, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

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Signing of Maputo Port 25-year concession extension

Africa Ports & Ships

On Friday 23 February 2024, at a ceremony held in Maputo, Mozambique, the official signing of the addendum to extend the Maputo Port concession document, took place. The addendum means that the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC ), now holds the concession to manage and operate the port of Maputo for a further 25 years commencing in 2033. The concession will now run until end April 2058 and is valued at 2.6 billion US dollars.

Pictured from left to right are

From right to left, Agostinho Langa (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mozambican Ports and Railways Company – CFM); Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem (Group Chairman & CEO of DP World; Amilton Alissone (Deputy Minister of Mozambique Transport and Communications; Xolani Mbambo, CEO of Grindrod Limited; and Osório Lucas, (CEO of MPDC).

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As Port Maputo gears up, Durban port is targeted!

Terry Hutson
Africa Ports & Ships

The Port of Maputo has its eyes on collecting some of the business that the Port of Durban takes for granted.

It’s not that Durban is physically unable to handle the sort of business that Maputo now threatens. It’s more a case of Durban port seeming incapable of handling all the business that comes its way in an efficient manner.

Consciously aware of this, Port Maputo has set its sights on moving in and capturing South African business before Transnet is able to get its act in gear and and ahead of it recovering from a growing lack of confidence felt by many of its major customers.

Many of those in Maputo’s sights are exporters of commodities that are based in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, provinces that are closer to Maputo than Durban, hence there are excellent logistical reasons why they should indeed look to Maputo instead.

If geography was the only criteria then Durban should give up right now and allow Maputo to take that share of the business, instead of fighting to retain every scrap it can. But that is not how good businesses operate.

After all, the port of Durban has been competing for the major share of business from those particular areas since, well, the time of the rinderpest.

Does any self-respecting, large and successful supermarket chain sit back quietly every time a new smaller competitor opens down the road, or does it go full out, marketing with special offers and services to ensure it retains every bit of business possible.

With that in mind, take a look at any photograph or diagram of the two ports. Durban has over 40 active berths (53 officially), Maputo around a dozen. A Maputo was once likened, by its then chief executive, it is akin to Maydon Wharf.

That’s not to suggest the Mozambican port lacks a right to improve itself or to compete vigorously for its own success and survival – that is a key aspect of free enterprise and is a credit to Maputo’s two main operators, DP World and Durban’s own Grindrod, for all the impressive improvements and achievements introduced since the port was first privatised.

There, that ugly word non-existent in the vocabulary of our trade unions, Transnet and the current government.

Yet it’s exactly because of the success so far of the privatisation of the port by the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) that Maputo is now in a position to target the port of Durban and to say, as MPDC chief executive Osório Lucas did this past week, that funds were available to increase cargo handling capacity, to “re-qualify the port of Maputo” and to “capitalize on the surplus cargo handled at the port of Durban.”

Note his diplomatic choice of words. They are not just looking for surplus cargo!

“We are a Port in direct competition with South Africa, which has very clear plans, from the privatization of the Port of Durban, which was awarded to a Philippine concessionaire [not quite an accurate comment but close], as well as investment plans in the order of 5 billion dollars in next 10 years,” Lucas reminded.

In Durban it’s referred to as a partnership, not privatisation, and it only involves one of the container terminals.

Maputo faces many of the same challenges faced by the Durban port. An oversupply of trucks arriving daily at the port gates. A railway that doesn’t always perform to full satisfaction or in the manner intended. Too many ships arriving at the same time and having to anchor idly outside.

The difference between the two ports lies in size and volume. And perhaps work ethic?

Maputo has a single container berth of 300 metres, compared with 6 large berths (potentially 8) at Durban plus a further two container berths on the Point. Maputo has a single berth for reefer vessels, Durban has four, so you’d imagine the odds were stacked in favour of Durban – right?

Wrong! There appears to be a different work ethic in our north-eastern neighbour port, or is it down to management input? It’s always difficult comparing large grapefruit with small naartjies.

To be fair to Transnet, the state-owned port company appears to be sincere in fixing its many wobbles, including the dismissal of several senior executives and a host of initiatives aimed at getting things right in a hurry. There’s nothing like a bit of old-fashioned ‘dire warnings’ from government to focus mindsets.

Meanwhile the clock is ticking and while there are signs of progress, in the eyes of its customers, things are not yet coming right quickly enough.

Ships are still bypassing Cape Town, and now that that’s happening increasingly with Durban as well. Just this week Maersk, one of the two largest users of South African ports, and especially Durban, announced that due to “the waiting time in Durban remaining high” Maersk has decided to extend the omission of its Durban call until end April 2024.”

No matter how you look at things, it’s not good business when a major shipping line boycotts your port with one of its services yet Maersk is not the first and only line to do so.

Back in Maputo, meanwhile, the port authority is positioning itself strategically, in anticipation of Transnet eventually getting itself right and “adjusting its ports before we do.”

One suspects that Mr Lucas is tactfully saying “let’s capitalise on Transnet’s problems while they have them.”

Lucas pointed out this week that more than 70% of the cargo handled at the Port of Maputo arrives from South Africa, with emphasis on ores such as coal, chromium, nickel, phosphate and vermiculite.

“We are not a port that can afford to define its own destiny by itself,” he rightly pointed out. “If South Africa takes action to adjust its ports, before we do so, this could have a [negative] impact on the thousands of lives that depend on it.”

So Maputo has its own challenges and opportunities – as for that matter it always has, right back to the days when it was Lourenço Marques and the rinderpest was about to blight the land. The challenge for it remains that it is not South Africa and there’s always a natural preference to keep things at home even when it comes to which port to use.

That’s provided everything else is equal, such as efficiency.

That was something South Africa once enjoyed a reputation for across Africa.

Unfortunately that reputation has largely gone, and with it some of the port, rail and road business that was almost exclusively its own. Other port and rail services are issuing challenges of their own, not the least that which is coming from Port Maputo. As Transnet battles with its own ghosts and demons it might well consider keeping a closer eye on what its neighbours are achieving, and Maputo in particular.

Finally, a salient message from Mr Lucas of MPDC can ring equally true for Transnet and the South African port system.

The Port of Maputo employs two thousand workers directly and 10 thousand indirectly. It has around 670 small and medium-sized companies that provide internal services.

“Therefore,” says Lucas, “the collapse or reduction of volumes at the Port of Maputo affects the MPDC and the entire society. That is why we asked the Government to extend the [privatisation] contract, starting in 2023. The Government challenged us to reevaluate our plans to strategically reposition the country.”

MPDC will now run the port of Maputo until 2058. Most the cargo it will handle will come from, or go to, South Africa.

Added 25 February 2024

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WHARF TALK: seismic support vessel – THOR FRIGG

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

The arrival in South African ports of vessels connected to the oil and gas industry throws up a vast array of different vessel types, all designed for specific aspects of this incredibly complicated, and highly technical industry. Of all the areas of oil and gas production there is one that, in South African terms, seems to get the extinction rebellion mob frothing at the mouth, and it is the area of seismic surveys.

Despite the fact that the coagulation of all parts of the green brigade have spent the last number of years trying to prevent the South African Oil and Gas Industry from carrying out Seismic Surveys in South African waters, they have only managed to curtail one of them, based on erroneous data, and a sympathetic judge. Since that judgement has been made, there have actually been two approved by the authorities, with one completed, and one currently underway, both on the west coast.

Maybe the west coast, due to it not having the romance of coastal areas like the Garden Route, the Wild Coast, and the Hibiscus Coast, does not seem to attract the conservation protesters, which is why there is little, if any, tub thumping and floor stamping in regard to these seismic surveys. In many cases, the old adage of out of sight, out of mind, seems to be the driver.

Yet, offshore the Northern Cape, albeit in Namibian waters due to agreed national ocean boundaries, seismic surveys have been going on almost continuously for over a year, with one currently in progress, with hardly a peep from protesters north of the border. The Namibian government have set up a Sovereign Wealth Fund from the proceeds of this industry and, as with a fund like Norway and the Shetland Islands, it will be used for the benefit of all its citizens, especially those most vulnerable.

Such a fund in South Africa would do wonders for some sections of her citizens, if such a fund was protected from official finger dipping, and unofficial looting. However, if there is no output from this industry because a section of the community was preventing its development, then it is never going to be realised. Climate change is about the burning of fossil fuels, not about the correct use of fossil fuels.

The positive products produced from the refining of a barrel of oil are too numerous to mention. However, without them the protesters would not be able to function, unless they wore woolen clothing, rode wooden bicycles on unpaved dirt roads, and didn’t need their designer sunglasses, laptops, and mobile phones. None of these items of life are about the burning of that barrel of oil. But to get that barrel of oil, you need to find it first, and for that you need to undertake a seismic survey.

On 19th February, at 08:00 in the morning, the seismic support vessel ‘Thor Frigg’ (IMO 9679048) arrived off Cape Town harbour, from her survey area off the Northern Cape, and proceeded into the Duncan Dock and went alongside the Repair Quay, an almost sure sign that she was in for bunkers, stores, and fresh provisions, and possibly some engineering support.

Built in 2015 by Besiktas shipyard at Altinova in Turkey, ‘Thor Frigg’ is 64 metres in length and has a deadweight of 1,750 tons. She is a diesel electric vessel, and has four Yanmar 6EY22ALW generators providing 1,000 kW each, which provide power to two Berg BCP760F controllable pitch propellers, producing 1,550 kW each, with both being linked to two Rolls-Royce FM rudders, and giving her a service speed of 13 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes a Scania DI12-62M emergency generator providing 260 kW. For added manoeuvrability she has a bow Schottel pumpjet SPJ132 RD-L thruster providing 650 kW. She has an ice classification of ICE 1A which allows her to navigate in first year Baltic Sea with a thickness of up to 0.8 metres, and in first year Polar ice with a thickness between 0.3 metres and 0.7 metres.

She has an aft working deck with an area of 300 m2, and a deck strength of 5 tons/m2. To transfer heavier cargo around the deck, and over the side, ‘Thor Frigg’ has an A-Lift crane capable of lifting 12 tons. Her seismic support work requires her to be able to tow disabled vessels out of the way of the Seismic Survey vessel, and for this she has a bollard pull of 50 tons.

Owned by Seismic Support Ltd., of Hósvik in the Faroe Islands, ‘Thor Frigg’ is operated by P/F Thor, also of Hósvik, and is managed by Thor Offshore Services, also of Hósvik. She is one of four sisterships, all of which were built to a specification from Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) of Oslo in Norway. The sisterships were all built to provide support to the PGS fleet of Ramform seismic survey vessels, and are all on long term charter to PGS for this requirement.

Currently ‘Thor Frigg’ provides seismic support duties to the seismic survey vessel ‘Ramform Atlas’, which is one of four sisterships, and the second built of the ‘Titan Class’ of seismic survey vessel. The ‘Titan Class’ are the largest seismic survey vessels in the world. Almost as wide, as they are long, ‘Ramform Atlas’ is 104 metres in length and has a beam of 70 metres, which also makes her class the widest vessels, at the waterline, in the world.

The role of ‘Thor Frigg’ as a seismic survey vessel is very much that of a multi-role vessel. She is required to act as a guard vessel for the ‘Ramform Atlas’ and communicate with all other vessels in the vicinity to ensure that they remain aware of the exclusion zone around her, as well as to act as a chase vessel to prevent any vessel from crossing into either the path of ‘Ramform Atlas’, or from sailing across her towed seismic arrays.

She is also to act as an emergency towing vessel in the event of another vessel breaking down in the path of ‘Ramform Atlas’, and remove any floating obstacles, or anything that might present a surface danger, ahead of the Seismic survey vessel. She is also able to refuel the seismic survey vessel, whilst at sea, and act as both a transport and accommodation vessel to the seismic survey vessel in the event of crew changes in those areas pf the world where no offshore helicopter support is available. For this purpose she has accommodation for 10 crew, and up to 46 supernumeries.

The arrival of ‘Thor Frigg’ is South African waters was on 22nd December 2023 when she made a 9 hour call at Saldanha Bay. She then arrived in Cape Town for the first time on 3rd January 2024 and remained alongside until 6th January, when she returned to the survey area. She then made two further visits to Saldanha Bay, the first visit being between 15th and 17th January, and a short 3 hour visit on 20th January. Her last call at Cape Town occurred on 8th February, when she was alongside for 18 hours.

It is not the first time that ‘Thor Frigg’ has been acting as a Seismic Support vessel in South African waters. Back in 2018, between March and May, she supported the ‘Ramform Sovereign’ which was conducting a 3D seismic survey, on behalf of the Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA), in the Durban Basin, between Durban and Port Shepstone, offshore of KwaZulu-Natal.

This survey covered an offshore area of 3,114 km, in a water depth that varied between 1,000 and 3,000 metres, and took place almost exclusively between 40 and 80 nautical miles off the coast, i.e. over the horizon, and her closest point to the coast in one instance was 27 nautical miles. Her towed array consisted of 10 streamers covering a length of 8,025 metres. Both ‘Thor Frigg’ and ‘Ramform Sovereign’ called into Durban for logistical reasons, during the course of the survey.

Her current seismic survey support to ‘Ramform Atlas’ is whilst conducting a 3D survey for Impact Oil and Gas, in the Orange Basin Deep, between Hondeklip Bay and St. Helena Bay. Again, her survey area is over the horizon, and her closest approach to the Western, or Northern Cape coasts is 118 nautical miles. The survey started in January and is expected to cover a period of 127 days, or just over 4 months.

Back in December 2015, ‘Thor Frigg’ rescued a sinking cargo ship in the English Channel, which got into distress during ‘Storm Desmond’. The general cargo coaster ‘EMS Majestic’, en route from Rotterdam to St. Malo in France, issued a Mayday call whilst in the Dover Strait, as she was taking on water, and her main engine had failed. Using her towing capabilities, ‘Thor Frigg’ attached a tow line to the stranded vessel, and undertook a 10 hour tow to bring ‘EMS Majestic’ to the safety of Portsmouth harbour.

Her current logistical call in Cape Town was complete after 32 hours alongside, and at 16:00 on 20th February, ‘Thor Frigg’ sailed from Cape Town, bound once more to undertake her support duties to the ‘Ramform Atlas’, which has remained offshore for the duration of the survey thus far. For the the Nomenclature fan, ‘Thor Frigg’ has the name of two Viking Gods, namely ‘Thor’ from which our word for Thursday is derived, and ‘Frigg’ from which our word for Friday is derived.

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KZN Ships in Port Update

Africa Ports & Ships

It does not appear that Transnet is continuing to issue daily Port Recovery bulletins, or if they are then Africa Ports & Ships is not receiving them.

To at least provide some sense of what the ships in port situation is, including the important list of ships at anchor outside, here is a basic list compiled from AIS information available earlier on Sunday 25 February 2024.

While providing this detail it is worth repeating that ships at both ports are arriving and/or departing throughout the day hence there can be more, or less, ships at either port at a later time.

For names of vessels in port please consult our Ship Movements pages for either port.

Ships in port of Durban Sunday 25 February 2024.

Island View – 6 tankers
Bluff – 1 bulker
Pier 1 – 1 bulker
DCT 1 – 2 container ships
DCT 2 – 4 containerships
Maydon Wharf – 1 container, ship, 2 general cargo, 1 wood chip carrier
T Jetty & R – 1 car carrier, 1 general cargo, 1 reefer
Point – 2 container ships, 1 general cargo

Total 23 vessels, excludes ship repair, fishing vessels and departmental.

Durban Outer Anchorage:

9 container ships
4 bulk carriers
1 RoRo vessel
8 tankers
SBM – 1 tanker

Total 23 vessels

Ships in port at Richards Bay

In port 25 February 2025.

RBCT – 3 bulkers
Dry Bulk and MPT berths – 9 bulkers, 1 general cargo

Total 22 vessels

Richards Bay Outer anchorage:

9 bulkers

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Cape Morgan Lighthouse, Eastern Cape – Sixty years of service

Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

Earlier this month it was reported from Cape Town by Transnet National Ports Authority that Cape Morgan Lighthouse was marking 60 years of service this month. It is said to be the second youngest of ten lighthouses along the Eastern Cape coast.

It was first lit on the night of 5 February 1964.

Cape Morgan Lighthouse is situated three kilometres west of the Great Kei River mouth. The 12-metre aluminium lattice tower has a square daymark and a red lantern house. It is fitted with an LED lantern with a character of two flashes every 10 seconds.

Unmanned operation

The lighthouse is automated and is not manned. Scheduled maintenance is carried out by teams from Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in East London.

During scheduled maintenance visits, TNPA employees check and service the light, the lantern house glazing, the lattice tower, and the standby diesel engine.

Before the electrification of the light in May 1980, the lighthouse was powered by diesel generators that ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The lighthouse still has one diesel generator on site, that is used as back-up.

Other lighthouses in the Eastern Cape with their dates of establishment are: Deal (1973), South Sand Bluff (1931), Mbashe (1926), Cape Hermes (1904), Great Fish Point (1898), Hood Point (1895), Seal Point (1878), Bird Island (1852) and Cape Recife (1851).

TNPA responsibilities

TNPA is mandated by the National Ports Act, 2005 (Act No. 12 of 2005) to provide, operate and maintain lighthouses and other marine aids to navigation (AtoNs) to assist the navigation of vessels within commercial port limits and along the coast of South Africa.

On a matter of nomenclature a marine AtoN is defined as: ‘A device, system or service, external to vessels, designed and operated to enhance safe and efficient navigation of individual vessels and/or vessel traffic.’

Lighthouses, beacons, and buoys are the most common types of visual AtoNs.

Virtual aids to navigation

Virtual AtoNs are new technology that use digital signals to warn of dangers in specific locations, without the need for physical buoys or lighthouses. The digital signals are transmitted from Automatic Identification System (AIS) stations and are received by AIS units onboard vessels. Large vessels – such as container ships and passenger ships – are required to carry AIS under IMO mandate. Smaller vessels do not have to carry AIS and therefore, visual marine AtoNs are retained in service.

International standards

TNPA AtoNs conform to the standards set by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). South Africa, represented at IALA by TNPA, and is a founder member of IALA in 1957.

Added 25 February 2024

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Gabon’s Owendo Container Terminal linked by new bridge

Africa Ports & Ships

In mid February 2024, Owendo Container Terminal (OCT) in Gabon commissioned a new bridge which directly connects the old port (NOIP Zone) with the new OCT terminal situated within the Gabon Port Management (GPM) zone.

Having the bridge eliminates previous inefficiencies and streamlines container movement within the port while marking another successful infrastructural project.

This critical infrastructure project, costing over 2 billion CFA francs (USD 3.196 million), is part of OCT’s stated intention of supporting the Gabonese State in the development and modernization of port infrastructure.

This follows the agreement signed in August 2022 with the Port Authority, the Office of Ports and Harbours of Gabon (OPRAG) and the Gabon Port Management Company (GPM) with a view to guaranteeing the safety of goods on the one hand, and to solving the problems of traffic flow within the port of Owendo on the other hand.

The project signifies OCT’s commitment to supporting Gabon’s port modernization efforts and sets a new standard for sustainable port development in Gabon, said Laurent Goutard, Managing Director of OCT.

“The establishment of a single customs office brings about several significant advantages. Enhanced security measures are a prominent benefit, as goods undergo stricter control, minimizing potential security risks,” he said.

The bridge’s contribution to smoother traffic flow within the port is helping alleviate congestion and facilitating faster, more efficient movement of containers.

Additionally, the centralized customs control results in simplified procedures for customs brokers, streamlining their processes.

Importantly, this centralized approach will translate to faster deliveries, benefitting importers, exporters, and ocean carriers by ensuring quicker container availability and delivery, ultimately enhancing overall operational efficiency across the logistics chain.

With its focus on efficiency, security, and environmental responsibility, this project will serve as a model for the future of the country’s port infrastructure. Labelled Green Terminal by Bureau Veritas, OCT hopes to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 300 tons per year by simplifying mobility, operations, and procedures.

Added 25 February 2024

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Spectacular bridge to connect Mombasa with mainland

Africa Ports & Ships

Africa’s longest bridge, the Mombasa Gateway, reached a further stage late last year with the signing of a Ksh260 billion deal (USD 1.781bn) to move forward with the construction of Africa’s longest bridge, the Mombasa Gateway. Also moving forward is the development of the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

The SEZ is being connected to the mainland also via the Mwache bridge of 660 metres – see video below.

The Master Plan was developed by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), the key development partner at the port of Mombasa.

The environment is set to enjoy benefits with the new bridge that will replace the old causeway connecting the island of Mombasa with the mainland, which has restricted the flow of water. Vehicle traffic flow on the bridge will be the main beneficiary.

Once complete, the 1.4km Gateway bridge will comprise four traffic lanes and will have a height of 69-metres at mid-point, providing space for the largest of ships to cross beneath. The main span will be 660 metres in length.

The cable-stayed bridge will commence near King’orani Prison on Lumumba Road, before rising over the Mombasa railway station and traverse Moi Ave. The bridge will cross over the Likoni Channel, entering the Likoni side near the ruins of the Sultan of Zanzibar Place close to the Puma Primary School.

The height of 69 metres above the Channel allows for shipping to pass beneath. When completed the bridge will enable the closure of the ferry that has seen continued service since 1937.

Dongo Kundu SEZ

The Donga Kundu SEZ is being developed on a 3,000 acre piece of land and will comprise a free port and trade zone, industrial parks with logistics and warehousing and several other associated developments.

At the Dongo Kundu SEZ, a shipping berth costing $340 million will be constructed for the multi-purpose terminal serving the SEZ. This is to be developed as a public-private partnership venture and is vital to the success of the SEZ and envisaged free port.

Information made available by the Kenya Ports Authority says the berth will have a length of 300 metres and a depth alongside of 15 metres.

Already under construction at the SEZ is a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank park with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes, being developed for the Tanzanian company Taifa, to serve the cooking gas industry in Kenya and Tanzania.

A report from 2023 stated the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Kenya’s commission responsible for technical and economic regulation of electricity, has granted several licenses to private investors to build bulk LPG facilities at the SEZ.

The Kenyan government is offering various incentives including exemption from excise duty to firms taking up space at the facilities planned.

Plans and proposals for the construction of the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone have been in the news for a number of years. It was reported earlier that approximately 86% of the financing by JICA would be in the form of a loan, with the balance as a grant.

The Japanese ambassador at that time described the ZEZ project as having the potential to completely change the economic dynamics of the region by ‘connecting the Indian Ocean with Africa.’

“There will be much more trade activity and investment, which will really revitalize the economic activity in this region and create jobs for the region and beyond,” Ambassador Okaniwa Ken said.

“With a location for regional pan-African operations — an area dedicated to the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) — we anticipate that the port will provide growing access to regional markets, and a catalyst for local private sector development.”

YouTube video of bridge (not the Gateway) construction taking place at Mombasa, all port and SEZ related.

Added 25 February 2024

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UNCTAD: Unprecedented shipping disruptions: Risk to global trade

Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

Recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea have severely affected shipping through the Suez Canal, adding to existing geopolitical and climate-related challenges facing global trade and supply chains, UNCTAD says in a new report released on 22 February*.

The Red Sea crisis compounds the ongoing disruptions in the Black Sea due to the war in Ukraine, which have resulted in shifts in oil and grain trade routes and altered established patterns.

Additionally, the Panama Canal, a critical artery linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is confronting a separate challenge. Dwindling water levels have raised concerns about the long-term resilience of global supply chains, underscoring the fragility of the world’s trade infrastructure.

UNCTAD estimates that transits passing the Suez Canal decreased by 42% compared to its peak. With major players in the shipping industry temporarily suspending Suez transits, weekly container ship transits have fallen by 67%, and container carrying capacity, tanker transits, and gas carriers have experienced significant declines.

Meanwhile, total transits through the Panama Canal plummeted by 49% compared to its peak.

Costly uncertainty of the Cape route

Mounting uncertainty and shunning the Suez Canal to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope has both economic and environmental repercussions, particularly for developing economies.

The Panama Canal is particularly important for the foreign trade of countries on the West Coast of South America. Approximately 26% of Ecuador’s trade volumes cross the canal. The share is around 22% for both Chile and Peru.

Africa trade dependency

Foreign trade for several East African countries is highly dependent on the Suez Canal. Approximately 31% and 34% of foreign trade by volume for Djibouti and the Sudan, respectively, is channelled through the waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

Soaring prices

UNCTAD underscores the far-reaching economic implications of prolonged disruptions in container shipping, threatening global supply chains and potentially delaying deliveries, causing higher costs and inflation. The full impact of higher freight rates will be felt by consumers within a year.

LNG shortfall

In addition, practically no liquified natural gas carrying vessels are using the Suez Canal at present. This is directly impacting energy supplies and prices, especially in Europe.

Grain trade disruption

The crisis could also impact global food prices, with longer distances and higher freight rates potentially cascading into increased costs. Disruptions to grain shipments pose risks to global food security, affecting consumers and lowering prices paid to producers.

Climate impact

For more than a decade, the shipping industry has lowered speeds to reduce fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions. However, disruptions in key trade routes like the Red Sea and Suez Canal, coupled with factors affecting the Panama Canal and Black Sea, are leading to increased vessel speeds to maintain schedules, which have led to higher fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

UNCTAD estimates that these factors could result in up to 70% rise in greenhouse gas emissions for a Singapore-Rotterdam round trip.

Pressure on developing economies

Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to these disruptions and UNCTAD remains vigilant in monitoring the evolving situation.

Robust cooperation needed

It emphasizes the urgent need for swift adaptations from the shipping industry and robust international cooperation to manage the rapid reshaping of global trade. The current challenges underscore the exposure of global trade to geopolitical tensions and climate-related challenges, demanding collective efforts for sustainable solutions, especially in support of countries more vulnerable to these shocks.

• The UNCTAD report is available here

Added 25 February 2024

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Transforming an industry on a global scale?

Africa Ports & Ships

Xeneta calls upon former Amazon and MSC logistics technology expert to join the ocean and air freight data revolution.

How do you harness the power of data and technology to transform the way ocean and air freight is bought and sold around the world?

That is the task facing Fabio Brocca after being appointed Chief Product Officer at Xeneta – the leading ocean and air freight rate benchmarking platform.

Brocca, however, has the inside track on global transformation after helping to scale and run one of the largest transportation networks on earth in his previous role as Head of Product for Global Transportation Technology at Amazon.

He said: “Amazon showed me the importance of working backwards from the customer and how a best-in-class tech company is run.

“When you are transforming an industry, you must think long term. What we think is needed today may not be what’s needed tomorrow, so it is a continuous pursuit of innovation.

“There is a beautiful quote from Jeff Bezos where he says, ‘we are stubborn on vision, we are flexible on details’.”

Brocca’s role will see him further develop Xeneta’s platform, which already calls upon more than 400 million crowdsourced datapoints on ocean and air freight shipping rates to bring transparency to an otherwise opaque market.

What is the problem Xeneta is trying to solve? Brocca has first-hand experience having also held the position of Director of Business Transformation at MSC – the world’s largest ocean freight shipping company.

“I have witnessed first-hand businesses across the freight industry with slow and inefficient processes, tendering departments working overtime every day for three months and still taking weeks to close a tender – then doing this again and again over multiple rounds.

“There is a lack of visibility in the market on how much businesses should be paying for ocean and air freight.”

Xeneta is set to launch the next generation of the platform in 2024 with previews being showcased at the TPM24 industry summit in Long Beach, California in 10 days’ time. How does Brocca believe it will solve customers’ problems, both now and in the future?

“The Xeneta platform is already providing tremendous value to customers, which is a great position to be in as a product leader.

“The long-term journey for the Xeneta platform is about insights and further personalization of the experience for customers. We want to display relevant data with the right context so that we can shorten the time it takes for customers to identify the most relevant insights for their business.

“I see my job as bringing clarity and focus on how the products we are launching today are supportive of the longer-term vision to change the way freight is bought and sold.”

Brocca’s addition follows the appointment of Tonia Luykx as Chief Revenue Officer and Hugo Grimston as Chief Finance Officer in the past 12 months, with Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund believing he has found a ‘needle in a haystack’.

“I knew we needed a global talent who brings a unique understanding of the Xeneta platform, the problems we are trying to solve for customers and our vision for the future,” said Berglund.

“Fabio has an extremely relevant background having worked within the shipping and freight industry at MSC while also having been a product leader in a global, market-leading logistics company like Amazon.

“Fabio also fits seamlessly into the special Xeneta culture so it feels like we have found a needle in a haystack and I am delighted to welcome him onboard.”

Added 25 February 2024

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Claude Aman appointed Managing Director of Africa Global Logistics Ghana

Africa Ports & Ships

Claude Aman has been appointed the new Managing Director of Africa Global Logistics Ghana. He replaces Thibaut Lamé, who is now Managing Director of AGL Cameroon.

In a statement AGL says Claude Aman’s main mission will be to pursue AGL’s growth strategy in Ghana, by developing new logistics solutions adapted to customer needs and market challenges.

He will also be responsible for promoting AGL’s vision as a major player in logistics transformation considering the establishment of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, of which Ghana hosts the headquarters of the Executive Secretariat.

Aman has 20 years of solid experience at AGL, where he has held several positions of responsibility. He began his career in AGL’s operations department where he rose through the ranks by contributing to the obtaining of several international certifications and the development of the company’s logistics services, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire.

In 2012, he took over the management of import and hinterland operations, before being appointed Director of Logistics Solutions in 2019. In this capacity, he led strategic projects for the development of logistics corridors in Africa.

Added 25 February 2024

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IMO agrees new guidance for safe transport of plastic pellets on ships

Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

The IMO is advancing efforts to ensure the safe transport of plastic pellets (otherwise known as nurdles) transported on ships, which can cause damage to the marine environment if released into the sea.

Meeting from 19 to 23 February at IMO HQ, the Organization’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 11) agreed draft recommendations for the carriage of plastic pellets by sea, along with draft guidelines for cleaning up plastic pellet spills from ships.

Draft recommendations

The draft recommendations for the carriage of plastic pellets by sea in freight containers include the following actions:

* Plastic pellets should be packed in good quality packaging which should be strong enough to withstand the shocks and loadings normally encountered during transport. Packaging should be constructed and closed to prevent any loss of contents which may be caused under normal conditions of transport, by vibration or acceleration forces.

* Transport information should clearly identify those freight containers containing plastic pellets. In addition, the shipper should supplement the cargo information with a special stowage request requiring proper stowage.

* Freight containers containing plastic pellets should be properly stowed and secured to minimize the hazards to the marine environment without impairing the safety of the ship and persons on board. Specifically, they should be stowed under deck wherever reasonably practicable, or inboard in sheltered areas of exposed decks.

MEPC March 2024

These recommendations, which aim to prevent a spill of pellets occurring, will be submitted for urgent consideration and approval by the Marine Environment Protection Committee at its next meeting in March 2024 (MEPC 81).

Clean-up guidance

In the event of a spill, the draft clean-up guidelines provide practical advice for government authorities and other entities for developing large-scale national strategies as well as smaller-scale site specific response plans. The guidelines cover contingency planning, response, post-spill monitoring and analysis, and intervention and cost recovery. These will be updated as the industry gains more experience with their application.

MEPC October 2024

The draft clean-up guidelines will be submitted to MEPC 82 in October for consideration. The Sub-Committee invited Member States to implement the guidelines early, pending their formal approval.

The Sub-Committee also held extensive discussions on possible amendments to IMO mandatory instruments related to plastic pellets and will continue these discussions at future sessions.

About nurdles

Plastic pellets are small plastic granules widely used as a raw material in the creation of plastic products. Normally transported by the tonne in freight containers, spills in the ocean can harm marine life and impact fishing, aquaculture and tourism activities. The most recent major incident occurred off the coast of Galicia in Spain, when millions of pellets washed ashore after accidental release from a ship.

PPR 11 more

Other key issues discussed at PPR 11 include the impact of Black Carbon emissions on the Arctic environment, guidance related to in-water cleaning to support the implementation of the 2023 Biofouling Guidelines, discharge of discharge water from exhaust gas cleaning systems, improving the lifetime performance of sewage treatment plants and reporting of lost fishing gear.

Added 25 February 2024

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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

Total cargo handled by tonnes during January 2024, including containers by weight

PORT	January 2023 million tonnes
Richards Bay	7.141
Durban	6.112
Saldanha Bay	4.619
Cape Town	1.021
Port Elizabeth	1.018
Ngqura	1.050
Mossel Bay	0.126
East London	0.157
Total all ports during January 2023	21.244 million tonnes

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